Badgers Wrestling Notebook: No Zander Wick for Michigan trip

The Wisconsin wrestling team heads east this weekend to tangle with No. 8 Michigan and Michigan State.

But, according to the latest newsletter from UW head coach Barry Davis, the Badgers will continue to be without the services of Zander Wick, the No. 17 wrestler in the nation at 149 pounds.

Wick has been out of action since the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational Dec. 1-2, an event which he placed seventh in.

Since then, the redshirt sophomore has missed three duals as well as the Midlands Championships.

Early last month, Davis told Talking Badgers that Wick’s absence was injury-related, but would be “good to go” in the near future.

When asked for an update on Wick, a UW representative stated that the coaching staff “does not want to comment on Zander’s status.”

For now, it appears that redshirt sophomore Cole Martin will be asked to answer the call. He sports a career record of 30-24 as an attached wrestler, including a 3-10 mark in dual meets.

Martin, who usually competes at 141 pounds, made his debut at 149 last weekend. He suffered a 19-7 loss to No. 4 Ryan Deakin of Northwestern.

The Badgers ultimately dropped the dual with the Wildcats by a count of 18-14. It was their first loss of the season.

Martin’s two opponents this weekend will likely be Michigan’s Malik Amine (10-7) and Jwan Britton (9-8) of Michigan State. Martin’s season record stands at 11-7.

Latest InterMat Rankings

Three Badgers earned recognition in the latest InterMat rankings which were released Tuesday.

Evan Wick (165) continues to hold the highest national ranking of any UW wrestler. He kept steady at No. 6 in this week’s rankings.

Ricky Robertson held tight at No. 9 at 174 pounds.

The aforementioned Zander Wick is No. 17 at 149.

As a team, the Badgers are No. 23 in both the dual and tournament rankings. Wisconsin slipped four spots in the latest dual rankings after suffering its first loss of the year, an 18-14 defeat at the hands of host Northwestern last Friday.

Ruschell to coach at Lindsey Wilson College

An announcement came Wednesday that Former UW grappler T.J. Ruschell agreed to join the coaching staff at NAIA Lindsey Wilson College in Columbia, Kentucky.
Ruschell, a Kentucky native, was a four-year starter for the Badgers from 2013-14 to the 2016-17 seasons.